Rule (Rule #1) by Ellen Goodlett - Restarting May 20th 2021

[Aly]

Three girls with three deadly secrets. Only one can wear the crown.

The king is dying, his heir has just been murdered, and rebellion brews in the east. But the kingdom of Kolonya and the outer Reaches has one last option before it descends into leaderless chaos.

Or rather, three unexpected options.

Zofi has spent her entire life trekking through the outer Reaches with her band of Travelers. She would do anything to protect the band, her family. But no one can ever find out how far she's already gone.

Akeylah was raised in the Eastern Reach, surrounded by whispers of rebellion and abused by her father. Desperate to escape, she makes a decision that threatens the whole kingdom.

Ren grew up in Kolonya, serving as a lady's maid and scheming her way out of the servants' chambers. But one such plot could get her hung for treason if anyone ever discovers what she's done.

When the king summons the girls, they arrive expecting arrest or even execution. Instead they learn the truth: they are his illegitimate daughters, and one must become his new heir. But someone in Kolonya knows their secrets, and that someone will stop at nothing to keep the sisters from their destiny... to rule.

[Aly]

Chapter 8 (view spoiler)[ These girls all have crazy secrets! Poor Akeylah, I feel the worst for her. She's killing the king because she didn't know he was her real dad. I hope they can all band together instead of fighting. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Chapter 17 (view spoiler)[ Oh no! Elex :( Hopefully Zofi can free him without anyone finding out. I wonder who's blackmailing the sisters? I wonder if it's the King's twin sister. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Chapter 24 (view spoiler)[ I'm glad the sisters are working together now. And it seems like it actually might be Yazmin who's threatening them. Hopefully they can expose her without getting in trouble themselves. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Finished (view spoiler)[ If Yasmin and Andros were echos, does that mean he knew she wanted the throne for herself? Or did she never actually want that and it was a trap for someone? And who is actually behond the blackmailing? I need to know the answers! (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Thanks for finding this and resetting it, Amanda :)

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Maddison wrote: "Thanks for finding this and resetting it, Amanda :)"

Yes TY! ^-^

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

This should work out well for all of us. Amanda and I are night owls so we can match up to your normal schedule Maddie. ^-^

[Amanda]

You're welcome guys. I'm excited for this one!!!

[Maddie]

Yeah I'm so keen as well! Hope it's a quick one!

It's basically the same as Three Dark Crowns, that's the vibes I'm getting from it.

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Maddison wrote: "Yeah I'm so keen as well! Hope it's a quick one!

It's basically the same as Three Dark Crowns, that's the vibes I'm getting from it."

I am also getting those vibes! ^-^

[Maddie]

I love the vibe, but just why is everything the same these days.

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Maddison wrote: "I love the vibe, but just why is everything the same these days."

IKR!? An ARC I'm reading is giving me fairly strong vibes of

[Maddie]

Oh yeah. I have so much reading to do, and no time to do it. Going out to a work party tonight that I'm not sure I wanna go to, but I feel obligated to.

At least tomorrow I have a day off from work and it's meant to be rainy, so yay! And I'm going to let myself sleep in and not feel bad.

[CC]

Uhh I want to read Rule in December. Possibly a few days later but I love that I found this to possibly read a discussino around it.

[Maddie]

Yeah for sure! Join in whenever you can!

[Amanda]

I can't wait to start this today!

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Amanda wrote: "I can't wait to start this today!"

Same! ^-^

[Maddie]

I want to read it too, but won't be today XD

[Amanda]

I started!

End of ch 4 Akeylah (view spoiler)[ Holy shit. Okay, I had no idea how these three girls were going to mesh in this story, all so different and the title eluded to them ruling somehow. Thankfully I didn't read the blurb recently because it was interesting to find out like this.

Also, now Akeylah is totally gonna be fucked if anyone finds out about that scar. Regicide and patricide! Holy shit!

Wow, what an interesting plot idea. Three bastard daughters of the king, none of them raised as royalty, competing against each other to rule.

The first three chapters were a little slow, but this one blew that slow start out of the water. So excited to get to know the three girls a little bit more. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

end of ch 5 Zofi (view spoiler)[ I'm already getting a good picture of Zofi's personality. She is wild and rebellious. Also a bit dangerous. I like her a lot already. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

end of ch 6 Florencia (view spoiler)[ I forgot that Ren grew up in the Keep, she has an advantage there. Plus she has her mom and everyone she knows nearby. That's nice.

Obviously her personality is a bit more refined, but it also sounds like her mom taught her manipulation and how to ferret out secrets and possibly use them against people. How to turn gossip into a weapon.

So Akeylah isn't the only one who has secrets. Ren was involved with treason that wound up bringing death to nearly 2000 soldiers. Right now it is looking like Zofi might have the best shot at winning this thing, although she is obviously the most wild, she hasn't killed the king (accidentally) or helped king thousands of his soilders.

Whoever compared this to Pretty Little Liars was right, this is already quite interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

It good so far?

[Amanda]

Maddison wrote: "It good so far?"

Yes. First three chapters are a little slow, after chapter 4 it picks up.

[Maddie]

Okay sweet, that's to be expected in a fantasy

[Krystal]

Signing up, have the book on hold but 1st in line.

[Maddie]

Awesome!

[Amanda]

end of ch 8 (view spoiler)[ It appears that they all have treasonous secrets. Yay secrets! The make for such interesting plots! Yay interesting plots! (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

end of ch 9 (view spoiler)[ Omg so all three of them have secrets and I'm betting that someone knows Ren's secret too. This is JUST like Pretty Little Liars. I'm such a sucker for these kinds of books. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

end of ch 10 (view spoiler)[ But who is it??? Is it the queen? We haven't met like.... anyone who doesn't like them and has played a big enough role yet. It's obviously not Danton. I can't wait to have more characters to guess from (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

End of ch 11 (view spoiler)[ "Queen Rozalind mentioned you might be a bit shy."

It might be the queen!!!


Also, with the camouflage tithe, someone can appear as someone else. This could be super useful to the plot later, I will have to remember that not everyone is what they appear to be. Very cool, blood tithes are a really awesome aspect of this novel.

All the girls are so different. Florencia is used to life in the castle a bit. Akeylah is a bit squeamish and Zofi is bold and a bit wild and dangerous. (hide spoiler)]

[Amanda]

end of ch 16 (view spoiler)[ The fact that she (Florencia) used to be a maid and is still really close to all the maids still is a total advantage that she has. I love how they're all suspicious of everyone rather than just being mildly suspicious or brushing it off like you see in most mystery novels. Rarely are the characters suspicious enough like people would be in real life. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Wow nice! I love all of the updates <3 It's motivating!

[Krystal]

Got the book from the hold! Starting today :).

[Maddie]

I still haven't started XD

[Anna 'Bookbuyer']

Maddison wrote: "I still haven't started XD"

Me either...

[Krystal]

Up to end of Chapter 2. I wish they had switched the two chapters in the beginning. Akeylah’s chapter reads better as a beginner because she explains things better than the first girl. The first chapter read like a sequel and I hate when books do that.

[Maddie]

Good haha, who knows when I will. I'm trying to get my currently-reading books finished before the end of the year, so they're a focus..

[Krystal]

Up to chapter 8. What a cute twist (view spoiler)[with the Queen (hide spoiler)]. Also, I like Akelyah- poor thing, and I feel the most sorry for her, and Ren.

[Krystal]

Up to chapter 10. I might have to take my comment about Ren back. I hope she doesn’t get haughty and arrogant. And I guess I am liking Zofi a tiny bit more.

[Krystal]

Up to chapter 14. (view spoiler)[This whole wondering if the other is blackmailing them is annoying to say the least. Ren is truly getting on my nerves and I hope her character gets more likable as the book moves on. I also hope this blackmailer is discovered quickly because otherwise an entire book of wondering if the other sister is out to betray them? Not pleasant. (hide spoiler)].

[Krystal]

Up to mid 20. (view spoiler)[ I really hope the blackmailer isn’t Aud. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Finished, rather quickly and unexpectedly... it’s like the book was just cut off, at the end. There’s no way someone could read this and not read the next one, the way they left it.

Review on page.

[Krystal]

I had no idea this was so recently published! Screaming in anger at how long we must wait to find answers!!!

[Maddie]

Yeah it's a new book!

Wow you only rated it 2 stars but you still want to read the next one?

[Krystal]

Yep, I need to know what happens and (view spoiler)[who the blackmailer is. (hide spoiler)]. But definitely not one of my favorite books. Two for me is decent, while 3 and 4 are my favorites.

[Maddie]

Well thanks for spoiling that for me....

Wow you have such a harsh rating system.

[Krystal]

My rating system is not as harsh as many, many people on here. Have you ever seen Kahn’s reviews? I’m fluff compared to her.
No one said a two was the worst thing ever.

[Maddie]

It's really rare that I find someone with a rating system like yours, where a 2's actually a good book XD That's why I was so surprised

[Krystal]

Ahh, well, I’ve rarely read a deplorable book. I think I may have given a one star rating before, but yeah 2-3 are my, not bad, not bad at all reads, where four is something I really loved. 5? I’ll have to look and see if I have anything a 5 but that’s something I would reread over and over.